MALLORCA, Spain — Gabriel Diallo continues to shine on grass, notching another victory as Canada’s tennis stars gear up for Wimbledon.
The talented 23-year-old Diallo cruised into the second round of the Mallorca Championships after defeating local favorite Jaume Munar of Spain with a score of 7-5, 6-3 in a swift match lasting just 56 minutes.
Standing tall at six-foot-eight, Diallo unleashed a powerful performance, serving 10 aces and fending off both break points he encountered. He successfully broke Munar’s serve three times from four opportunities, showcasing his skill with two crucial breaks during the second set.
Having recently clinched his first-ever ATP title at the grass-court Libema Open in the Netherlands, Diallo entered the tournament ranked a career-high No. 41. His next challenge awaits against Serbia’s Laslo Djere in the ATP 250 event.
In another event, the top-seeded duo of Gabriela Dabrowski from Ottawa and Erin Routliffe from New Zealand faced an early exit in the first round of the WTA 500 Bad Homburg Open in Germany.
Dabrowski, returning after a month-long hiatus due to a rib injury, appeared ready for a comeback. She and Routliffe started strong, winning the first set against Taiwan’s Wu Fang-Hsien and China’s Jiang Xinyu. However, they ultimately fell short, losing the match 6-7 (7), 7-5, 10-8.
Meanwhile, in men’s Wimbledon qualifying in London, Laval’s Alexis Galarneau advanced to the second round, claiming a victory over Murphy Cassone from the United States with scores of 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. He is set to face British wild card Oliver Tarvet next.
Conversely, Newmarket’s Liam Draxl was unable to qualify, losing to Serbian veteran Dusan Lajovic with a scoreline of 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Women’s qualifying kicks off tomorrow, featuring Toronto’s Victoria Mboko, Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino, Bianca Andreescu from Mississauga, Kayla Cross of London, and Carson Branstine all set to compete.
Branstine, representing Canada internationally despite her Californian roots, has an exciting first-round qualifying matchup against Lois Boisson, who recently garnered attention for her impressive semifinal run at the French Open.
Main-draw action at Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam of the tennis calendar, kicks off on June 30 at the iconic grass courts of the All England Club.
